Here is news about Sasha.
It is with great joy in my heart I can report that Sasha has been home
with Edie and me now for two months after 7.5 months in hospitals and
nursing homes. What a wonderful experience, to have her here with us.
I have detailed Sasha’s travails and journey during her illness and
recovery in my Journal Updates on caringbridge.org. It is time to write
a new Update. Here is some of what is new for Sasha since June 5th.
Sasha's attitude is joyous and hopeful for her continued recovery. She
is happy to be free of the restraints and interruptions of continuous
medical care, which includes attending to her open abdominal wound
required to save her life last October. This wound needed to be closed with
a skin graft, which was finally performed on May 29th after the Minnesota
ban on non-essential surgery because of COVID-19 was lifted by our
Governor (details are available in my Journal Updates).
Once home Sasha was initially just able to climb our stairs as she had
not been able to practice using stairs or walking any distances in her
medical residences. As in most congregate care settings she needed
to avoid persons and surfaces potentially infected with the COVID-19
virus. As a result, her muscle systems weakened during her protective
quarantine. Her last residence, North Ridge Health and Rehab, had 101
residents infected with this virus at the same time during her stay.
Over the past month Sasha has gained strength. Nonetheless, she tires
very easily and had at the beginning difficulty getting up from a chair,
reaching up or bending down. These activities still result in a great deal
of pain even as her abilities have improved.
Sasha is now scheduling outdoor visits with her friends.
There is one large medical hurdle yet to be overcome and that is the
need for major abdominal restructuring to address Sasha's present
weakness. This surgery is considered medically necessary to restore
her to an adequate level of physical functioning. Sasha will have a CT Scan
on August 5th to determine the scope of her surgery, and then her
operation will be scheduled.
Sasha’s continuing recovery is our primary concern.
Warmest regards,
John (Sasha and Edie)
